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The N-Conference Zurich - Interview with Dr. Santiago Calatrava

Sep 14, 2018

The Master Plan
Every difficult negotiation needs a master plan. This plan sets a course of action, but more importantly, minimizes risks. Master planning will be the central focus of this year’s N-Conference, SNI’s renown global negotiation conference in Zurich.

Principle 5: The Learning ProcessNature vs. Nurture - Can you learn to become a professional negotiator?

We are often asked whether good negotiators are born or made. The truth is, while individuals can be born with certain talents that would appear to be suited for negotiation, it does not necessarily mean that they will be successful negotiators. A professional negotiator is someone who has mastered a long learning process, complete with ups and downs and first hand experience.

The art of learning consists of learning through small conflicts that contain few risks. This means that you do not wait until the most important negotiation of the year (or your career) comes along before you apply the negotiation tactics you have learned. Rather, you create a “conflict” at every possible opportunity, that you begin making demands, and that you practice. Much like muscles in the human body, negotiation skills must be flexed, trained, and strengthened with use.

Dr. Santiago Calatrava, a featured speaker at this year’s N-Conference in Zurich, stresses that it is especially on the small projects that one should work with full commitment, which in turn helps increase learning for the big projects. Arguably the best-known and most innovative architect in the world, Dr. Santiago Calatrava is currently building the tallest building in the world in Dubai. The knowledge to do that however, was born long ago, when he started his career building a small balcony in Zürich.

An excerpt of Dr. Calatrava’s interview can be found below:

This year, SNI is offering a special highlight:

Following the presentation by Dr. Santiago Calatrava, N-Conference attendees will have the opportunity to take an architectural tour through the Zürich University Library.

The tour takes place for all N-Conference participants:
Date: 11 October 2018
Time: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Place: Law Library at the Zürich University